The coffee run that refreshed Building 429’s Jason Roy

The path to crafting their latest record, Live the Journey, was one of the most intense spiritual & musical experiences of Building 429‘s lead singer Jason Roy’s life. Lessons were learned left & right on what was, in multiple ways, an unexpected road. He says one of the biggest was rediscovering the sacredness of the present. Not to squander the moment.

Jason explains how a trek to a Louisville coffee shop illustrated the lesson perfectly.

“Yesterday we were in Louisville travelling on the bus. It was snowing, and I’d had a rough day. So we stopped to get food, and about a quarter mile down the road was a coffee shop. So I put my coats and scarves and everything on, and I walked in the snow to this Starbucks.”

“I walked up to the counter, and this guy looks at me with a beanie on my head and my glasses on – so I don’t look anything like the guy you would know. And he goes, ‘You’re Jason from Building 429!’ And he said, ‘My name is Nick. I grew up in the same church that you grew up in North Carolina. I’m a huge fan of your music.'”

After that special moment, instead of turning around and departing, Jason felt a nudge to ask a question.

“I realized I had a quarter mile back to my bus – and I’d never never done this in all my life – but I turned around and I said, ‘Any chance you could take me over across the road to my bus?’ And he was like, ‘No way! No way! Yes!'”

“So his wife was in the car, and she just flipped out. And I got the biggest blessing in the world in a 10 minute drive from a Starbucks to a bus. I just thought to myself, how many times have I walked into Starbucks and grabbed a coffee and walked out the door passing up an opportunity to go, ‘Hey. Let’s spend a little bit more time together’? I don’t want to be that guy. At this point in my career and in my life I’m going, ‘Lord, show me where I’m supposed to be. Show me the conversation I’m supposed to be in. Then give me the courage to stand in them and stay in them even when I’m a little bit stressed out. Because I’m actually an introvert. Give me the courage to stand in these conversations, and bless people in this part of their lives. And that really is the walking out of this concept. All we have is this moment. This moment is precious. So let’s let’s use it.“